OTTAWA - A public inquiry into the Bernier-Couillard affair is imperative now that the former foreign affairs minister says he can't remember leaving classified documents at his ex-girlfriend's home, Liberal Leader Stephane Dion says.
Moreover, Dion says, there's no reason to shy away from a public inquiry just because some key findings of another sensational probe -- into the Liberal sponsorship scandal -- have been struck down.
"One of the criticisms against a public inquiry is that it may be unfair, you may tarnish reputations," Dion said in an interview Friday.
"I think the (court) decision of yesterday is not saying we don't want public inquiries in Canada. It's saying that we want that to be properly done and the judge must be very cautious to not make comments that may look (like) bias."
The Federal Court on Thursday quashed the Gomery inquiry's conclusion that former prime minister Jean Chretien and his top aide bore some responsibility for the sponsorship scandal. The court ruled that inquiry head Justice John Gomery made indiscreet and inappropriate comments to the media which showed bias against Chretien and Jean Pelletier.
"For Mr. Chretien and Mr. Pelletier, I'm pleased," Dion said. "I know they are honest people. They served their country proudly."
He said the ruling constitutes "a message to all the judges of Canada."
"Don't speak to the media. You rule and that's it. You speak through your ruling."
Whatever the flaws in the way the inquiry was conducted, Dion said at least the Liberal party was open and transparent in trying to get to the bottom of the sponsorship scandal. And he contrasted that with the way in which Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Tory government has stonewalled opposition attempts to probe the Bernier-Couillard affair.
Harper has rejected calls for a public inquiry, dismissing opposition MPs as "gossipy old busybodies" bent on exposing the salacious details of Maxime Bernier's private relationship with former girlfriend Julie Couillard, a woman with intimate links to criminal biker gangs and mobsters in the past.
"It's completely unacceptable this secretive way to deal with this issue, which is an important one because there is a possibility of security matters involved," Dion said.
Bernier resigned as foreign affairs minister late last month after admitting he'd forgotten classified documents at Couillard's home.
However, in his first public appearance since then, Bernier told supporters in his Quebec riding this week that he doesn't remember leaving the documents. And his father, former MP Gilles Bernier, told reporters his son had been tricked.
The former foreign affairs minister said Friday during a public appearance in his riding that he's relieved he got to tell his version of the story that led to his resignation.
"It's like I removed 100 pounds off my shoulders," he said. "Now it's time to turn the page, to look to the future."
Dion said Bernier's recent comments raise even more concerns about potential security lapses involving the documents.
"What kind of guarantee may tell us that they did not circulate to organized crime or foreign powers?"
Dion was also skeptical of Bernier's claim that Couillard never told him about her background, contradicting his ex-girlfriend who insists she told him all about her biker connections.
"Former minister of foreign affairs of Canada, a G8 country, saying that he never asked the woman he was dating for months if she had been married before and with whom? Nobody will believe it."
With Dion attempting to keep the focus on Tory scandals and his own recently unveiled "green shift" policy, Thursday's ruling on the Gomery probe was arguably bad timing.
It served to remind Canadians of Liberal wrongdoing and revived the split within the party between the Chretien camp and that of his successor, Paul Martin.
Following the ruling, former top Chretien aide, Eddie Goldenberg, called on Martin to apologize to Pelletier, whom he had fired as the head of Via Rail.
But Dion was careful not to get caught in the middle of renewed sniping between the camps.
"I have a strong admiration for Mr. Martin as well and it's for him to decide how he wants to react."
